Wine Terms Starting With The Letter 'L'

A smooth (not sharp) acid created during malolactic fermentation. This acid is also found in milk.

Landwein

German quality classification. Landwein is a slightly higher quality level within the Tafelwein, the lowest designation.

Late Harvest

On labels, indicates that a wine was made from grapes picked later than normal and at a higher sugar (Brix) level than normal. Usually associated with botrytized and dessert-style wines.

Lazy Ballerina

The trellis that a wine grapevine is grown on

Leafy

Describes the slightly herbaceous, vegetal quality reminiscent of leaves. Can be a positive or a negative, depending on whether it adds to or detracts from a wine's flavor.

Lean

Describes wines made in an austere style. Not necessarily a critical term, but when used as a term of criticism, it indicates a wine is lacking in fruit.

Leather

The aroma of old leather club chairs, most frequently associated with older red wines.

Lees

Sediment—dead yeast cells, grapeseeds, stems, pulp and tartrates (harmless tartaric acid crystals)—remaining in a barrel or tank during and after fermentation. Immediately following fermentation, wine should be racked off of the gross lees, the large particulate matter such as seeds, skins and stems, which are rich in spoilage organisms. The wine may be aged for an extended period on the fine lees, however, in what's called "sur lie" aging. Fine lees, the dead yeast cells leftover from fermentation, can enhance an aging wine with added richness, flavor and aroma complexity, and can also bind with excess tannins.

Legs

The viscous droplets that form and ease down the sides of the glass when the wine is swirled.

Length

The amount of time that taste, flavor or mouthfeel persist after swallowing a wine. The longer the finish, the better the wine quality. Common descriptors are short, long and lingering.

Lie

French term for the dead yeast and sediment of wine also known aslees.

Lieu-Dit

Place name, or named vineyard, the smallest parcel that can be named in an appellation.

Lieu-dit

French term for a named vineyard site. Usually used in the context of describing individual vineyards belowGrand crustatus.

Lightstruck

A tasting term for a wine that has had long exposure to Ultraviolet light causing "wet cardboard" type aroma and flavor.

Limousin

A forest near Limoges, France, that produces oak for barrels. The loose-grained wood from this area readily imparts flavors to wine.

Lingering

Used to describe the persistence of flavor in a wine after tasting. When the aftertaste remains on the palate for several seconds, it is said to be lingering.

Liqueur d'expedition

French term for "shipping liquid", used to top up and possibly sweeten sparkling wine after disgorging. Usually a solution of saccharose in base wine.

Liquoreux

French term meaning"liqueur-like"used fordessert winewith a luscious, almost unctuous quality. Often used to describe wines made by botrytis-infected grapes

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